United States Postal Service®

Quarterly Performance for Standard Mail®
Service Variance
Mailpieces Delivered Between 04/01/2016 and 06/30/2016

Quarter III
FY2016

Overview

For Standard Mail® letters and non-Saturation flats, the service performance measurement system of the Postal Service™ uses documented arrival time at a designated postal facility to start the measurement clock, and an Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb™) scan by an external, third-party reporter to stop-the-clock. Mail piece tracking from IMb™ in-process scans is used in conjunction with the external data to extrapolate results for the population of Standard Mail® using Full-Service Intelligent Mail®. Data collected by the Postal Service™ are provided to an independent, external contractor to calculate service measurement and compile the necessary reports. The system used for this reporting is called the Intelligent Mail® Accuracy and Performance System (iMAPS).

The external contractor determines service performance based on the elapsed time between the start-the-clock event recorded by the Postal Service™ and the stop-the-clock event recorded by anonymous households and small businesses that report delivery information directly to the contractor. The service measure consists of two parts: (1) how long mail pieces take to get through processing, and (2) how long mail takes from the last processing scan to delivery. The second portion is used as a delivery factor differential to determine the percent of all Standard Mail® delivered on the last processing date versus the percent delivered after the last processing date. Service performance is measured by comparing the transit time to USPS® service standards to determine the percent of mail delivered on time.

The Service Performance Measurement (SPM) application of the Full-Service Seamless Acceptance and Service Performance system (SASP) serves as the data source for iMAPS. SPM captures data from all Full-Service Intelligent Mail® and applies business rules for service measurement before sending data to iMAPS.

The service performance measure for DDU-entry Saturation flats involves the identification of major weekly Saturation mailings within delivery units. Delivery of these mailings is captured with a scan made by carriers at the completion of delivery of all pieces on the route. Service performance is measured by comparing the delivery date to the end date of the mailer requested in-home window to determine the percent delivered on time. Data from anonymous households reporting the receipt of these Saturation mailings are used to validate the accuracy of the carrier scans.

The service performance measurement system for Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) - Retail™ uses the documented arrival time of a mailing at a retail unit to start the clock, using the point-of-sale scan when mail is handed to the Postal Service™, and an Intelligent Mail® parcel barcode (IMpb™) scan by a USPS® carrier to stop the clock. The delivery of bundles of EDDM-Retail™ pieces is captured with a scan made by carriers at the delivery unit upon distribution for delivery. Service performance is measured by comparing the total transit time of mailpiece bundles to the service standard to determine the percent delivered on time.

Results for DDU-entry Saturation flats and EDDM-Retail™ are combined with other destination entry Standard Mail in the Destination Entry scores in this report.

The service performance measure for Standard Mail® parcels with USPS Tracking™ serves as a proxy for measuring service performance for Standard Mail® parcels.

Limitations

Due to limited automated processing for Standard Mail® flats, the service performance results may not be representative of all Standard Mail® flats performance. While Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) entered Saturation flats and EDDM - Retail™ flats have been included this quarter, significant gaps in the coverage of non-Saturation/non- EDDM - Retail™ DDU-entry mail still remain and are excluded from the measurement.

Results for Standard Mail® parcels, which represent less than 0.1 percent of all Standard Mail®, are not included in the overall Standard Mail® results.

The delivery factor for Standard Mail® Letters was created using Standard Mail® Letters with Intelligent Mail® barcodes received by external reporters. Data for the delivery factor of Standard Mail® Flats were based on a combination of Standard Mail® Flats and Bound Printed Matter Flats with Intelligent Mail® barcodes as well as EXFC test flats received by external reporters. The EXFC and Bound Printed Matter Flats data were used to supplement the limited Standard Mail® Flats data available during this period.

Performance Highlights

National Destination Entry mail achieved performance of 95.2 percent on time in Q3, 3.9 points higher when compared to the same period last year, and 99.5 percent delivered within service standard plus three days. The Appalachian district led the nation in Destination Entry performance with 97.8 percent on time. Sixty-six districts achieved an on time performance at or above the performance target of 91.0 for Destination Entry mail.

End-to-End Entry National performance was 71.3 percent on time, 12 points higher when compared to the same period last year. In FY16 Q3, 93.8 percent of End-to-End entry standard mail was delivered within the service standard plus three days. The Alaska District had the highest End-To-End entry score with 93.1 percent on time.

 

District Destination Entry End-to-End
Percent Within +1-Day Percent Within +2-Days Percent Within +3-Days Percent Within +1-Day Percent Within +2-Days Percent Within +3-Days
Capital Metro Area 98.1 99.1 99.5 79.7 86.9 91.1
Atlanta 97.9 99.0 99.4 77.9 86.6 91.9
Baltimore 98.0 99.1 99.5 78.5 86.4 90.5
Capital 97.1 98.5 99.0 72.0 80.7 85.5
Greater South Carolina 98.6 99.4 99.6 84.3 90.5 94.2
Greensboro 98.3 99.2 99.6 83.4 90.0 93.9
Mid-Carolinas 98.5 99.4 99.6 85.5 91.3 94.6
Northern Virginia 98.4 99.2 99.5 77.5 85.1 89.1
Richmond 98.2 99.1 99.5 76.7 83.4 87.3
Eastern Area 98.8 99.4 99.6 83.3 90.1 93.9
Appalachian 99.3 99.5 99.7 79.2 87.4 92.3
Central Pennsylvania 99.1 99.5 99.7 80.8 88.9 93.3
Kentuckiana 98.4 99.1 99.4 78.4 85.2 90.1
Northern Ohio 98.9 99.5 99.7 87.6 93.5 96.3
Ohio Valley 98.5 99.2 99.5 79.5 87.6 92.6
Philadelphia Metro 98.8 99.4 99.7 83.4 91.2 95.1
South Jersey 99.0 99.5 99.7 84.3 91.0 94.5
Tennessee 98.7 99.3 99.5 86.5 91.9 94.9
Western New York 99.1 99.5 99.7 81.7 88.6 92.5
Western Pennsylvania 99.1 99.6 99.7 92.2 95.7 97.4
Great Lakes Area 98.3 99.2 99.6 81.9 89.6 93.9
Central Illinois 98.3 99.2 99.5 80.2 88.6 93.4
Chicago 97.6 99.0 99.5 80.4 88.6 93.3
Detroit 97.9 99.0 99.4 81.1 89.1 94.0
Gateway 98.6 99.4 99.7 85.9 92.4 95.7
Greater Indiana 98.3 99.2 99.5 81.6 89.0 93.5
Greater Michigan 98.9 99.4 99.6 79.0 87.5 92.7
Lakeland 98.4 99.3 99.6 81.7 89.2 93.5
Northeast Area 98.0 98.9 99.3 75.7 84.7 90.3
Albany 98.6 99.4 99.6 77.2 85.8 90.9
Caribbean 98.3 99.2 99.5 90.6 93.8 95.9
Connecticut Valley 98.0 99.0 99.4 75.0 84.7 90.8
Greater Boston 98.1 99.1 99.4 73.4 82.4 87.9
Long Island 98.3 99.0 99.4 73.8 84.4 90.9
New York 96.9 98.1 98.6 80.1 87.7 92.4
Northern New England 98.3 99.2 99.5 68.1 77.2 83.6
Northern New Jersey 98.2 99.1 99.5 77.1 86.9 92.4
Triboro 97.7 98.8 99.2 85.0 90.4 93.7
Westchester 96.9 98.5 99.1 74.7 84.4 90.3
Pacific Area 98.6 99.4 99.6 84.8 90.6 93.9
Bay-Valley 98.2 99.2 99.5 83.8 90.1 93.8
Honolulu 98.2 98.6 98.8 89.0 93.6 95.5
Los Angeles 98.4 99.3 99.6 81.4 88.0 92.2
Sacramento 98.3 99.2 99.5 84.5 90.8 94.4
San Diego 98.7 99.5 99.7 85.1 90.5 93.7
San Francisco 98.5 99.4 99.7 81.4 89.8 94.1
Santa Ana 99.1 99.6 99.8 86.0 90.9 94.0
Sierra Coastal 98.9 99.5 99.7 85.7 90.9 93.8
Southern Area 98.2 99.1 99.5 86.5 91.8 94.8
Alabama 99.0 99.5 99.7 83.0 89.1 93.0
Arkansas 98.6 99.3 99.5 81.1 88.1 92.2
Dallas 97.7 99.0 99.4 82.6 89.1 92.9
Fort Worth 98.8 99.5 99.7 86.0 91.5 94.5
Gulf Atlantic 98.9 99.4 99.7 87.5 92.3 95.3
Houston 97.3 98.7 99.1 90.8 94.4 96.5
Louisiana 98.3 99.2 99.5 85.4 90.7 94.1
Mississippi 98.7 99.3 99.5 86.1 91.2 94.4
Oklahoma 98.6 99.3 99.5 88.3 93.0 95.4
Rio Grande 98.7 99.4 99.6 85.4 90.9 94.0
South Florida 97.0 98.5 99.1 87.3 92.4 95.4
Suncoast 98.7 99.4 99.7 87.4 92.6 95.7
Western Area 98.7 99.4 99.6 87.2 92.6 95.6
Alaska 98.9 99.3 99.4 95.7 97.4 98.3
Arizona 98.9 99.5 99.7 82.3 88.8 92.7
Central Plains 98.8 99.4 99.7 86.2 92.7 95.8
Colorado/Wyoming 97.6 98.9 99.2 83.6 90.5 94.3
Dakotas 98.9 99.5 99.7 82.8 89.6 93.5
Hawkeye 99.2 99.6 99.7 88.2 93.7 96.5
Mid-America 98.9 99.6 99.7 89.6 94.2 96.6
Nevada-Sierra 98.8 99.3 99.5 88.2 92.4 94.9
Northland 98.9 99.6 99.8 87.2 93.3 96.4
Portland 99.0 99.4 99.6 87.6 93.0 95.9
Salt Lake City 99.0 99.5 99.6 86.2 91.8 95.0
Seattle 98.7 99.5 99.7 91.8 95.2 97.0
Nation FY2016 Q3 98.4 99.2 99.5 83.6 90.1 93.8

Nation FY2015 Q3 (SPLY) 97.2 98.7 99.3 74.2 83.2 88.9

Nation FY2009 Annual 93.4 96.4 98.0 78.1 85.1 90.0
Nation FY2010 Annual 92.3 96.0 97.8 68.8 75.8 80.7
Nation FY2011 Annual 86.5 93.2 96.2 53.9 67.1 77.1
Nation FY2012 Annual 92.2 96.0 97.7 70.0 79.7 86.3
Nation FY2013 Annual 96.3 98.4 99.2 77.2 86.3 91.7
Nation FY2014 Annual 96.7 98.6 99.3 77.8 86.6 91.9
Nation FY2015 Annual 96.3 98.4 99.1 74.7 84.0 90.0
Nation FY2016 Q1 95.8 98.0 98.8 73.6 83.0 88.7
Nation FY2016 Q2 97.2 98.7 99.2 76.0 84.2 89.5